Lebanon’s Government Commissioner to the Military Court, Judge Claude Ghanem, began investigating on Monday 12 October 2026 the case of a truck stopped days earlier in the Dahr al-Baydar area while carrying more than half a tonne of explosives from the Bekaa towards Greater Beirut. The seized materials were placed in the custody of Lebanon’s military police.
Nawaf Salam gives details of explosives shipment
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the truck was carrying hundreds of kilogrammes of explosives, including the highly explosive material C-4. Information related to the case indicated that the shipment exceeded half a tonne and included TNT and C-4. Salam said in a post on X that the truck had been stopped days earlier in Dahr al-Baydar while travelling from the Bekaa region to Greater Beirut.
He said: “It is now known that a truck was stopped days ago in Dahr al-Baydar while heading from the Bekaa to the Greater Beirut area, carrying hundreds of kilogrammes of explosives, including the highly explosive material C-4.” The prime minister said he understood the concern among Lebanese people after news spread of the truck’s interception and the nature of the materials it was carrying.
He linked that concern in particular to the presence of C-4, noting that it had been used in a number of political assassinations that he described as infamous in Lebanon’s modern history. Salam stressed that there would be “no laxity or leniency” in the investigation, urging the Lebanese to trust that the government would pursue the investigation and work to expand it.
He added that the aim was to identify all those involved in what he described as the “criminal operation” and hold accountable anyone attempting to tamper with the country’s security, safety and stability. The Lebanese government also pledged to expose those responsible for transporting the explosives shipment and identify the parties behind it.
Military judiciary sets course of investigation
Salam said the authorities would not be lenient in pursuing the case and reaching all those involved, as the file moved to an investigation before the Government Commissioner to the Military Court. Judicial and security measures are focused on the truck stopped on the road between the Bekaa and Greater Beirut, and on the materials it was carrying. Judge Claude Ghanem took charge of the investigation while the seized explosives remained in the custody of Lebanon’s military police.
The description of the quantity of materials varied between Salam’s statement, which referred to hundreds of kilogrammes, and information putting it at more than half a tonne of TNT and C-4.
The relevant authorities are pursuing the investigation to determine responsibility for transporting the shipment and identify the parties behind it, in line with the government’s stated pledge.
